1. Field
This disclosure generally relates to the field of electronic communications. More particularly, the disclosure relates to electronic communication devices that provide paperless electronic receipts for transactions at a point of transaction.
2. General Background
Many point of transaction locations, e.g., point of sale locations, point of service locations, etc., currently provide paper receipts for a transaction. Many possible environmental concerns have resulted from the utilization of massive quantities of paper for printing such paper receipts on a frequent basis.
Some current approaches allow a user at a point of transaction location to request that a receipt is e-mailed to the user. Such configurations typically require a user to either input an e-mail address or provide the e-mail address to a point of transaction location representative that inputs the e-mail address. Such approaches often lead to delays at the point of transaction. Many consumers often find that having a paper receipt printed is much faster. Further, many consumers that are concerned about the environment often select a paper receipt out of concern for a possible return of an item.
Such approaches also lead to privacy concerns as many consumers do not want to provide their e-mail addresses to a significant quantity of point of transaction locations. Such consumers are often concerned about the possibility of spam e-mail.
Further, such approaches often lead to organizational concerns. Many consumers want to keep their paper receipts organized so that they may find a particular receipt if they need to return purchased items. Organizing e-mails with electronic receipts is often more difficult for many users than simply organizing a set of paper receipts. If a user has to return an item, searching through many e-mails of electronic receipts that are mixed in with e-mails not associated with electronic receipts may often be difficult.
As a result of possible delays at a point of transaction location, privacy concerns, return concerns, and organizational concerns, many consumers often request a paper receipt from a point of transaction location rather than having the receipt e-mailed to them. Accordingly, many point of transaction locations still have to provide paper receipts.